European Brand and Packaging Design Association
The EPDA is the leading European network uniting internationally minded designers and agencies who value contact and interaction with peers.
Truus Dokter lives in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. In 1997, after many years of corporate experience as a design manager in the fashion industry, she launched “it fits!” and became an agent for PeclersParis in the Netherlands and Belgium. After working for a variety of companies in the fashion and design industry, she has devoted the last couple of years to what she calls the “bigger picture”, developing and presenting ideas and theories on innovation, social change and society. She has not deserted the creative design process, but the financial crisis of 2008 drew her attention more towards global social, economic and political change. Since then her chief passion has been the contextualisation of current developments and how to adapt to a new reality in a changing environment. She very much enjoys teaching and mentoring students and is as inspired by the new generation entering the profession as they are by her.
Truus is the proud winner of the 2015/16 Twoty trend forecaster of the year award.
Kevin founded Stranger and Stranger in 1994 to specialise in the packaging of alcoholic beverages.
Stranger & Stranger has since become one of the leading firms in this field, with
studios in London, New York, and San Francisco, and advises all kinds of clients – from major corporations like Bacardi and Treasury, or global brands like Jack Daniels and Lindemans, down to one-man start-ups. Stranger & Stranger is responsible for labelling over a billion bottles and cans every year; winning hundreds of awards along the way and creating brands worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Loe Limpens studied fashion design at the Academy of Applied Arts in Maastricht and design management in Rotterdam, Netherlands. For over 25 years Loe has worked for private label manufacturers, design agencies and leading retailers.
In 2001 Loe was asked to join Ahold/Delhaize as a Senior Marketing Manager for Visual Identity. He was responsible for the successful visual repositioning of Albert Heijn in the period 2001-2008, when the design of Private Label packaging played a vital role.
In 2009 Loe founded Yellow Dress Retail, an agency specialising in retail design, private label packaging design and retail communication design, with offices in Holland and India serving clients in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and India.
After matriculation Natalie Kiefer studied design and illustration at the renowned
Basel School of Design. After completing her foundation course she transferred to
the Zurich University of the Arts, where she graduated as an illustrator for scientific
visualisation.
In 2006 she began a career as a graphic designer at Schaffner & Conzelmann, where
she was initially assigned individual projects, but was quickly made team leader with
responsibility for larger projects. During her career Natalie Kiefer has created countless
successful designs and has received several international awards. In 2014, she
and her colleague Romana Cahenzli took over the design firm Schaffner & Conzelmann,
a successful business that had specialised in packaging and corporate design
for some 40 years. Kiefer has been co-owner and responsible for design and creative
development since 2016.
Emre was born in Germany and raised in a modest town once famous for its silk industry,
but moved to Italy in 2011 to study Art Direction at Nuova Accademia di Belle
Arti. The cosmopolitan city Milan has been his inspiration for new ideas. Today, his
creative journey continues in Hamburg pursuing a career as an Art Director. This has
seen him working on a wide range of brand identity, editorial and packaging projects
for various clients. His creative work bears the influence of his minimalist approach.
The quality of his work has been recognised in various design awards, such as “The
Dieline” and “Adobe Achievement Awards” and nominations from “Design made in
Germany”.
In his private life Emre enjoys travelling and photography. He never goes anywhere
without his old Leica and a notebook as he will write down new ideas and experiences.
Emre never misses an opportunity to develop new ideas, create new stories and
use his imagination.
Apart from being a seasoned designer, Christiaan is also a trusted consultant to
some of the world’s largest companies and has advised them on branding & packaging
designs over the past 11 years. He has been a resident judge for design
awards, and has spoken at various global design & marketing events. Christiaan
founded the London office of the award-winning Cartils agency, and recently founded
the DesignBro.com platform, challenging the existing agency model.
Mark van Iterson trained as an industrial design engineer. In 2005, after 13 years in
design and brand consultancy, Mark joined Heineken. He is now responsible for all
design and concept development for the Heineken brand worldwide. In the rather
conservative beer category, Heineken sets itself apart with its progressive vibe and
innovativeness. Design and innovation play a key role in the enhancement of the beer
experience, the development of brand equity and the creation of future business
concepts. It is these qualities that interest and excite consumers in 192 countries.
Working in the Heineken head office, Mark is responsible for all designs connected to
the global ‘open your world’ and sponsorship campaigns, the iconic Heineken packaging,
for new brand extensions and for The SUB and experimental design activities
such as the crowd-sourced concept bars at the Milan and London Design Weeks.
Oliver comes from a sales background and has more than 25 years of experience
working in security printing, government contracts and brand protection at Giesecke
& Devrient in Munich, Germany. Prior to his current position as Business Development
Manager, he advised governments in various countries on how to design and
implement tax stamp programmes.
Mengel joined Giesecke & Devrient in 2001 as a research chemist in the product
development department of the printing division. He headed the Ink/Applications
department from 2007 until his appointment in 2012 as Group Vice President for
Product Development. Since April 2015 he has been the head of R&D/Technology for
Substrates and Print in the Banknote Solutions Division.
Prior to G&D, Christoph Mengel worked for a multinational chemical company in the
development of flexographic printing plates.
Christoph Mengel holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Freiburg and
specialised in polymer chemistry for his PhD, which he obtained at the Max Planck
Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.
